Giants, Michael Morse agree to 1-year deal

Updated 11:13 pm, Thursday, December 12, 2013

Seattle Mariners' Michael Morse is congratulated after scoring against the Oakland Athletics in the fourth inning of a baseball game on Sunday, May 12, 2013, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Seattle Mariners' Michael Morse is congratulated after scoring against the Oakland Athletics in the fourth inning of a baseball game on Sunday, May 12, 2013, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Photo: Elaine Thompson, Associated Press

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Various injuries limited outfielder Michael Morse to 88 games last season, when he played for the Mariners and the Orioles.

Various injuries limited outfielder Michael Morse to 88 games last season, when he played for the Mariners and the Orioles.

Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle

Giants, Michael Morse agree to 1-year deal

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ORLANDO -- The Giants have no one on their roster who has hit as many as 30 home runs in a big-league season.

They soon will.

Michael Morse, who is 6-foot-5 and goes by the nickname "the Beast," agreed to a one-year, $6 million contract to be the Giants' left fielder. The deal will be finalized once Morse passes his physical next week.

"If he's healthy, he'll be out there," manager Bruce Bochy said in a phone interview, adding that Gregor Blanco will be the fourth outfielder and sub for Morse late in games.

The deal surfaced shortly after the Rule 5 draft Thursday, the final day of the winter meetings. The Giants had sought a right-handed hitter through trades and free agency to either platoon with Blanco or play full time. They preferred someone with pop after ranking 29th in the majors in home runs, their left fielders hitting just five.

Morse, 31, homered 31 times in 2011, a career year in which he batted .303 with 95 RBIs for the Nationals. Hunter Pence's career high in homers is 27 (2013), Pablo Sandoval's is 25 (2009) and Buster Posey's is 24 (2012). No S.F. hitter has reached 30 since Barry Bonds in 2004, when he hit 45.

"I'm excited about Morse. I just think it's a great fit for us," said Bochy, who managed Morse in the Taiwan All-Star Series in 2011. "He's well worth the risk. He's a power guy, an RBI guy. Not too long ago, this guy had a great year, and he looks healthy."

Aside from his defense, health is the biggest issue with Morse, who last season had a strained right quadriceps, broken right pinkie and left wrist injury that required surgery to remove a bone spur. He was limited to 88 games with Seattle and Baltimore, hitting .215 with 13 homers and 27 RBIs.

Bochy said he heard from his medical staff that Morse is physically sound.

It's possible Morse will hit as low as seventh in a lineup that could go something like this: Angel Pagan, Marco Scutaro, Brandon Belt, Posey, Pence, Sandoval, Morse and Brandon Crawford - with Belt dropping in games against lefties.

Burrell was a major part of the road to the World Series, joining the Giants in early June and hitting 18 homers in 289 at-bats. Burrell played left and was subbed out late in games, and Bochy said he could do something similar with Morse to get him "off his legs." Morse occasionally could play first base.

Morse has been suspended three times for steroid use, twice in the minor leagues. He issued a statement in 2005 after his last ban, a 10-day suspension from MLB, saying that all three penalties came from the same instance of taking steroids to heal a torn thigh muscle in 2003, then having residue remain in his system two years later.

The Giants have committed $172 million to six players since the season ended, including $90 million for Pence, $35 million for Tim Lincecum, $23 million for Tim Hudson, $13 million for Javier Lopez, $6 million for Morse and $5 million for Ryan Vogelsong.

The roster appears mostly set. The front office has considered free-agent relievers, but also is open to relying on in-house candidates Heath Hembree and Jake Dunning.

The Giants had no transactions in the major-league phase of the Rule 5 draft. In the minor-league phase, they lost pitcher Scott Schuman (9.51 ERA with Double-A Richmond) to the Blue Jays.

Morse stats

Michael Morse played 139 games over five seasons in the majors before getting a chance to play on a regular basis with the Nationals in 2010. His year-by-year stats since then:

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